Technology

Cleveland Foot & Ankle Clinic is one of fifteen centers in the U.S. that is taking part in a clinical trial to prove that an FDA-approved camera does what it says it does. Diabetics and people with nerve damage are often prone to wounds that won’t heal. Many times the wound may look healthy, but dangerous and infectious bacteria is lurking inside that can’t be seen.

One day, bandages could speed healing by zapping wounds with gentle bursts of electricity. They wouldn’t even need a battery pack. A patient’s own body movements would power the device. And such a system may not be that far off. Researchers have already produced a working prototype.

Applied Tissue Technologies (ATT) announced Monday it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device. NPWT devices have been used in the U.S. to help heal wounds since the 1990s but currently require healthcare professionals to place foam, gauze or another filler material over the area being treated.

Sutures or staples are the norm to close deep wounds that won’t otherwise heal on their own. But a Houston medtech company says it has a better way. DermaClip makes an eponymous device that the company says is a non-invasive way to foster wound healing. The DermaClip device is an adhesive strip placed across a wound.

LEDs or light emitting diodes are semiconductor devices that release light, of different wavelengths, when an electric current passes through. LED phototherapy is a non-invasive and non-thermal procedure, involving the use of LEDs for a range of medical and aesthetic uses.

Bruin Biometrics, LLC has been granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration marketing authorization for the SEM Scanner, a wireless handheld device that is indicated for use as an adjunct to the standard of care when assessing patients who are at increased risk for pressure ulcers.

Onduo, a Verily-Sanofi joint venture focused on digitally-driven diabetes management, is looking to further protect its members from foot ulcers and limb loss. Orpyx Medical Technologies’ diabetic foot ulcer sensors for its members.

15% of the 425 million people in the U.S. living with diabetes develop foot ulcers. This is called diabetic foot ulcers, and it is said to increase the risk of death on a person by up to 2.5 times. Treating the ulcer with current means takes around 120 days.

Chronic skin wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, pressure wounds and other chronic skin wounds affect more than 6 million people in the U.S. alone, with the cost of treatments mounting to $25 billion each year.